Guild Wars 2 is back with more news, after some time in silence. ArenaNet works hard and thousands of anxious players are waiting for more and more information about this game. Recently, the Guardian class has been presented, bringing a lot of new guesses throughout the whole GW2 community. Now, the devs bring the Human Week, specially dedicated to everything related to this race and they have added some updates to the GW2 human page.

Along with the human history, their main city Divinity’s Reach, the circumstances that humans have to confront and their heritage, a new video presenting Kryta (the last Human homeland) has been added to the blog.

The humans of Tyria are an embattled race. Over the past three hundred years, they have lost much of their territory. Old enemies and new races threaten traditional human lands on all sides. Yet the human race survives, defending their remaining lands and maintaining the human spirit as they have for centuries. Their greatest city, Divinity’s Reach, shines as a beacon of hope for the people of Kryta and beyond–even those dwelling deep within charr territory. The human legends are indelibly imprinted on the souls of all the races of Tyria, be they friend or foe.

It is great that ArenaNet keeps bringing new updates and information about Gw2. This game is one of the most awaited in MMO history and promises to change a lot of holy features we’re used to. The blog is such a good source of information, where you can read for hours about lots of so interesting topics. If you plan to give GW2 a try when it comes out, you cannot miss this wonderful blog.

Have a look at the last updates and the whole stuff published, during the Human Week. Go to the official webiste and check it out.

Trion Worlds has just announced that next February 15^th, the Open Beta for RIFT will take place for a period of six days. During this phase, all MMO fans interested in trying this soon to launch game, can throw themselves into the dangerous, gorgeous and dynamic world of Telara.

Continuing with the marketing method set by Trion, this new beta phase is called “Telara the Merciless”. When you get yourself into this world, you see lots of things continuously happening, in addition to the normal MMO activity. You find yourself surrounded by invasions of all kinds, Rifts opening all of a sudden and everywhere, sending all types of monsters against Telara.

A tireless and unending horde, invaders from the planes continue their assault on Telara. The final (beta) battle is at hand and the fate of the planet depends on the courage and strength of Telara’s champions. Become one of the Ascended and fight for a world that’s on the brink of losing all hope.

Which side will you choose? Guardian, Defiant? It’s up to you. Whether you’re a PvE or a PvP player, you’ll find lots of action. Hundreds of quests, faction and planar special items, bosses, battlegrounds, story-driven missions and more, for the joy of all gamers in the  Open Beta to start next February 15^th.

You’re still in time to sign for the beta, and if you want more information, visit the fantastic website of the game.

RIFT is to launch next March 1^st, but you’ll be able to try it and see if you like it, as much as I do.

Hail, avid gamers! This week’s column is about one of the most challenging features of any MMO: raiding. We all dream of getting fabled loot and defeating mythic opponents, side by side with your guildmates and friends. Raiding can be so exciting (and sometimes repetitive and boring.)

Come along with me after the jump and let me tell you of my experiences and opinions.

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Bioware has recently presented Flashpoints, a form of group missions for its upcoming MMO Star Wars: The Old Republic. This caused quite a big revolution among the ranks of all the SWTOR community and is a very juicy information, for all the curious minds trying to know how the game will be. Now, Jesse Sky, a world designer for this game, goes deeper into what Flashpoints are and how the team creates them.

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MMOs are games that are always changing and evolving. Sometimes, those changes are for good and the community of the game is happy with them, but sometimes not. Usually, MMOs remove some features, while the devs try to create a better game. Looks like Runescape is taking back two features from the past: Wilderness and Free Trade. After a referendum made by Jagex Games Studio, over 1,2 million players voted and an astounding majority wanted those two features back.

Wilderness is a form PKing (player-killing)  in Runescape, very appropriate; Free Trade allows players to give their friends gifts and access to unrestricted trade. These changes will come along with this month’s update, for the joy of many players. Newbies, you better run now that Wilderness comes back.

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Have you been waiting for Faxion Online to launch its Closed Beta? Wait no longer. Today, UTV True Games has announced the launch of the closed beta of this Heaven vs. Hell PvP focused MMO, where an eternal battle in the seven deadly sins themed areas will take place.

Hell Freezes Over is the official title of the launching event, and the first batch of invites are being sent to the lucky chosen players that pre-registered. If you’re interested, you’re still in time to apply for the beta on the official website.

As stated on the press release, you’ll start your adventure in a war-torn limbo:

Upon entering the world of Faxion, players will find themselves in
war-torn limbo as they start their journey in the afterlife.  The
Seven Deadly Sins represent physical locations in the game, each with
its own immoral theme, and players will have the opportunity to
explore and discover the locations as they immerse themselves in
intense battle for the armies of Heaven or Hell.  Through each
manifestation of the Sins, players will encounter the people that
represent them. From the Gluttonous enjoying an eternal feast, to the
Prideful Atlans building their Tower into the skies, players must face
off against other inhabitants of the afterlife, limbo and the deadly
sins while vying for control of each deadly zone!

Faxion, internally developed by UTV True Games by a team of veterans of the industry, offers a PvP focused experience and a territory control system. A comical twist has been added to the formula, creating a quite unique game in its concept. Fighting other players endlessly is fun, but can be so repetitive. Adding a  good sense of humor to it, can be the key to making this game fun enough to succeed, while they polish it before final release.

Are you planning to give this game a try? Would you be good or bad? Now that Faxion Online launched Closed Beta and Hell freezes over, I wonder if the PvP focused MMO world will change. Stay tuned, we’ll tell you soon.

Bioware has recently revealed Flashpoints for Star Wars: The Old Republic. That’s the name for group missions in this game and the devs promise those missions will be challenging, being worth the run, as players will get nice loot and rewards, if they succeed.

We all know missions, quests or whatever the game calls them, are the leveling core of the current MMOs. Some of them, like Flashpoints, are designed for groups, pushing them towards difficult goals and tough enemies. What I wonder is how difficult these missions are going to be. Nowadays, with the exception of very few ones, MMOs are easy and require more planning than ability. If Bioware plans to provide real hard challenges, avid gamers, then this looks great.

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Hey, avid gamers. I hope your gaming week has gone well enough to let you rest for a while and read this week’s MMOries of a Gamer. Today, I would love to tell you about something I really love in practically every MMO I’ve played: landscapes.

I use to say that MMOs are beautiful like no other games are. The tremendous design effort this type of game needs and the huge worlds created, so players can explore and play for years, result in fantastic virtual worlds, full of wonderful or terrifying places; but always gorgeous.

Come with me after the jump, and let me tell you of several awesome landscapes I’ve stumbled across while playing my favorite MMOs.

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“Traditional Character Classes can go to Hell!” is the strong and shocking statement UTV True Games made recently, showing the gaming world how different this company wants Faxion Online to be. A breeze of fresh air is always good, as long as what you’re making has a sense, and that’s what this company seems to be doing. Later this month, the game is going into closed beta, pushing players beyond the gates of Heaven and Hell into a ferocious but promising to be fun endless divine war.

In Faxion, players can create a character with a base class, determining the basic skills set. Afterwards, a second line of abilities can be trained and later, if the player wants to, a third. This gives the players a deep customization system for their characters, with regard what they can do and how they do it. Mixing different classes skills and abilities is always fun and is the kind of choice freedom that modern MMOs seems to be offering in the future.

Have a look at the classes, after the jump.

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ARGO Online, the Hybrid MMORPG developed by burda:ic, is offering now more details about the Steampunk World it features. A world marked by the constant need of Earthdium, the most precious mineral in the universe, will hold all the players, once the game comes out.

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